The present invention relates to a method and system for providing information to market participants about one or more power generating units based on thermal image data.
In analyzing a regional electricity grid and forecasting wholesale electricity prices in the near-term markets, one key consideration is the status of electricity supply. In order to monitor the status of electricity supply, one known method is to place one or more monitoring devices at selected locations near high-voltage electric power transmission lines to allow for a determination of the amount and direction of electric power flowing over a particular set of transmission lines. For example, and as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,714,000; 6,771,058; 6,956,364; and 7,088,090, this is accomplished through the use of sensing elements responsive to the electric potential and the magnetic flux densities associated with the transmission lines, therefore allowing for periodic or continuous measurements of the electric potential and magnetic flux densities associated with the transmission lines. Collected data is then transmitted to a central processing facility where a computational analysis is conducted to calculate the amount and direction of both real and reactive electric power flowing on the monitored set of transmission lines. The resulting power data can be further analyzed and compiled to determine the output of a power plant connected to the transmission lines. This information can then be used to assess regional electricity supply and forecast wholesale electricity prices.
However, some power plants, including those which may be critical for an accurate analysis and understanding of the supply situation in a given geographic region may not use overhead transmission lines. Rather, in some cases, transmission lines may travel underground and, as such, it is effectively impossible to use sensing elements responsive to the electric potential and the magnetic flux densities associated with the transmission lines in order to derive information about the output of the power plant.
Furthermore, most power plants include a number of independent power generating units, and monitoring the transmission lines exiting the power plant does not give an accurate indication of which power generating units are on and which are off. This can also limit the accuracy of an assessment of the electricity supply being contributed by a particular power plant.